The corners of steam table pans receive rough treatment. They are frequently dropped and the corners tend to roll over. When this occurs, the pan no longer properly seals an opening in a steam table, allowing steam to escape from the unsealed portion of the opening.
Those in the industry have sought without success to solve the problem by attempting to develop a tool that might be used to straighten out the bent over corners.
Another problem with steam table pans results from pinching the metal along the downturned outer edge of the top flange during the manufacturing process. That pinching tends to leave both burrs and a sharpened edge which requires post-treatment to eliminate. A type of construction has been developed in Europe in which the outer edge of the flange is out-turned and extends generally parallel to the pan bottom. That construction apparently avoids the pinching of the outer edge and is more effectively deburred. Further, that construction produces somewhat greater strength or reinforcement. Nevertheless, the problem of bent and rolled over corners has remained.